Vayeitze

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann

G-d remembered Rachel; G-d listened to her,
and He opened her womb. She conceived and
bore a son, and she said: "G-d has gathered in
[assaf] my disgrace." So she called his name
Yosef... (30:22-23)

Which disgrace was Rachel referring to when she said, "G-d has
gathered in my disgrace?" Rashi cites two possible explanations: 1)
I had been disgraced by my barrenness, in the face of all of Yaakov's
other wives having already conceived. 2) As long as a woman has no
son, she has no one to take the blame for her mistakes. Once she
has a son, she can blame [everything] on him. [For instance, if her
husband asks,] "Who broke this?" - "Your son!" "Who ate these figs?" -
"Your son!" (Midrash [Bereishis Rabbah 73:5])

To take care of an obvious difficulty, let us assume that explanation
2) does not mean she actually lies, claiming that the figs she ate
were actually eaten by her son. [And if the figs were indeed eaten by
her son, then what has she really gained - he deserves to take the
blame!] Perhaps, however, what it means is that once she has a child,
the housewife is no longer expected to be perfect. "Who broke these
plates?" - "I did - after being up all night taking care of your crying
son!" "Who ate these figs?" - "I did - I was completely drained after
spending my whole day caring for your son and I needed some time
to relax!"

But how is it possible that these were Rachel Imeinu's feelings about
childbirth: "Great - now I've got someone to blame. I don't have to be
so perfect anymore!" May we not assume that all of Rachel's prayers
to bear Yaakov's children were inspired solely by her desire to be one
of the mother's of our nation? When she, in great anguish, told
Yaakov (30:1), "Give me children - if not, I am dead!" was she merely
seeking a son who could bear the blame of her imperfections?

The very first blessing of the Birchos ha-Shachar, the morning
blessings, is "Blessed are you, Hashem... Who has given the brain
understanding, to discern between day and night." Why, asked the
Alter of Slabodka zt"l, did our Sages choose to begin our day in
praise of such a seemingly simple faculty - the ability to discern
between night and day?

The Gemara asks (Berachos 59a), "What blessing does one make
over rainfall? Rav Yehuda said: We give praise to You for every single
drop [of rain] that You have given us." Why is it necessary to praise
Hashem for every single drop of rain? Would it not suffice to simply
give praise for rainfall in general, without mentioning every single
drop? Evidently not. It seems that Chazal, our Sages, wanted us to
realize that "rainfall" is in fact a combination of thousands and
millions of tiny drops of water, each drop a kindness of its own. To
praise the rainfall without mentioning the drops, would be to ignore
the fact that every last drop is worthy of our appreciation and
recognition.

The human brain is perhaps the most complex and least understood
segment of the human body. Speech, movement, visual perception,
spacial awareness... the network of the brain's faculties is seemingly
endless and "mind-boggling." Of all the brain's functions, its ability to
discern between night and day is seemingly one of the most simple
and basic. And, explains the Alter of Slabodka, it is precisely because
of this that our daily prayers must begin with this praise, to remind us
that, "Were our mouths full of song, and our tongues full of joyous
song like the waves of the sea, and our lips as full of praise as the
heavens, and our eyes as brilliant as the sun and the moon, and our
hands outspread as the eagles, and our feet as swift as deer - we still
could not thank You sufficiently, Hashem, for even one of the
thousands and myriads of favours, miracles, and wonders... (Nishmas
prayer)"

No doubt bearing a "scapegoat" was the furthest thing from Rachel's
mind when she prayed for a son. But when her request was granted,
she did not overlook even the smallest kindness that it entailed. She
had the wisdom to perceive and appreciate even the most minute
fringe-benefits, things such as the now-diminished expectations of her
ba'alebusta prowess. [Shai La-Torah]

I once heard of a man whose body was flawless, save for one minor
problem. The muscle in his eye-lids, which serves the function of
keeping them open, was not receiving its messages properly from the
brain. In order to see, he had to prop his eye-lids open with his
finger.

It never ceases to amaze me how, even after having just visited the
mechanic, and having spent an inordinate amount of money
overhauling what I thought was surely every-last one of my car's parts
and pieces, something can still malfunction the very next day! Once,
while driving, a nut became loose. When it fell off, my transmission
fell right through the floor of the car! A simple nut. When one begins
to consider the countless and endless factors and components that
come together to make our day just-so, one is indeed humbled and
filled with gladness and appreciation.

It is so common to see the forest but completely overlook the trees
(not to mention the grass, the leaves, the flowers and the fresh air,
etc.). If we focus on only the most major and life-changing events in
our lives, we lose sight of the countless daily kindnesses we
constantly depend on, each of which is in its own right deserving of
infinite praise and appreciation.